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Q&A with West’s Video Game Design Instructor

This summer, campers can choose from one of our four amazing workshops at Sci-Tech West – robotics, video game design, astrophysics, and roller coaster physics. We sat down and talked about video games, curiosity, and his love of all things science with our video game design instructor, Tim Handley! Keep reading to get all of the details and excitement for this summer.

When you are not teaching Video Game Design at Sci Tech West, what do you do?Lots of things! I teach science, teach game design, make games about science, hike through the mountains, watch Steven Universe, read boatloads of books, and hang around with friends.

What do you like about video games? Do you have a favorite game?I like that games are so different. Sure, there are the mainstream games, and some of those are pretty amazing. But if you go off the beaten path, there are all these small and middle-sized games that are ridiculously creative, games that offer a never-ending source of unexpected ideas and beautiful surprises. So many amazing things that I can’t pick just one. Among other things, I’m a big fan of strategy games (e.g. Civilization), story games (Open Sorcery, Night in the Woods), adventure games (Wuppo), and puzzle games (World of Goo).

What sparked your interest in science/tech and when did that first happen?I’ve always wanted to know how things work. When I was a kid, I was taking apart broken vacuum cleaners, digging holes in the back yard, and building model rockets. In college, I continued my quest to understand how things work by studying physics. Once out in the professional world, I was startled to find that not everyone enjoyed science as much as I did, and so I decided to weave together my two major passions – science and games – and use that help others to find their own joy and meaning in science.

Tell us a little-known or silly fact about yourself!Once upon a time, I lost a dozen diamonds in a week. It’s a weird and super-nerdy story.